Like Real People Do
by islaydragons
Summary: Growing up as a Stark had some advantages. Being Iron Man's sister? Not so much.
1. a brother's love

Tony wasn't excited about getting a sister.

His parents tried to get him to feel better about it, but he wasn't having it. His father started acting like a completely different person when the news hit. He doted over his mother, gushed over his unborn daughter, and lectured Tony about 'responsibilities.' At least the last one was more like the Howard Stark Tony had always known.

So no. Tony didn't want a sister.

He prided himself in being more mature than a usual ten year old, but he couldn't get past the childish _jealousy_ he was feeling towards the newest Stark. His parents spent more time discussing her instead of paying attention to _him_ and it wasn't fair!

So when this little girl was born and his parents had tears in their eyes, an ugly feeling sifted through him. They don't look at him like _that_ , they didn't talk about him like _that_ , and they definitely didn't seem to care for him like _that_ , either. Tony decided then and there that he wasn't going to be a good big brother no matter the costs.

His sister, however, disagreed with all of his goals.

Little Eleanor followed him around when she was old enough to crawl and walk. She babbled at him and reached for him, but he refused to acknowledge her. It didn't matter that they shared the same name, the same hair, or even the same eyes. He didn't care at all.

It wasn't until he realized just how similar they were that he finally did.

The older Eleanor got, the more their father quit taking as much interest in. He still babied his only daughter and spoiled her, but it was few and far between. Their mother, bless Maria Stark, tried hard to care for the two Stark kids, but her own work made it very difficult. Out of the family, Tony was the only constant in Eleanor's life, and she in his.

She was still a child, yet he could see that she was as lonely as he was.

He changed his mindset after that. He wasn't lucky enough to have any older siblings to look after him and teach him the ways of the world. He had to learn it all by himself with only the love from his mother and the toughness from his father. He knew all about what it meant to come home from school to an empty house, to be lectured incessantly, to feel lonely. His sister was going through all of it, only adding an estranged brother into the mix. Well, he at least wanted to change the last part.

When Tony thought about it, it wasn't until he saw Eleanor crying her little heart out that his newfound goal was cemented.

He was walking towards his room. He was about fifteen at the time, visiting from school for the time-being. Eleanor's room was on the way, and in its rarity, the door was cracked open. The young girl typically holed herself in her room when Tony wasn't around, according to Jarvis, their butler, but even during this visit, Eleanor had refused to step out unless it was dinnertime or she was forced out.

At first, he didn't think anything of it. His sister decided to stop pestering him when he came home, no big deal. Hell, it was almost a relief. He learned from an early age that blood doesn't mean anything, and his younger sister was just a reminder to him of what he didn't have.

It wasn't until he got closer that he could hear the muffled cries coming from the little girl, and he decided to investigate because _nobody_ was allowed to make his sister cry except for him. Despite his feelings towards her, he would not allow anyone to break her because if she's anything, she's a _Stark_.

Tony pushed the door open and knocked on the frame. "Eleanor?"

The little girl stopped for a moment. She didn't lift her face from her pillow or turn towards him. "What?" her voice cracked out. Her attempts of stopping her tears was futile as Tony could still see her body heaving. He leaned against the door awkwardly.

"Uh, is - is everything okay...?" the question even sounded bad to him. Of course she isn't okay! Eleanor let out a wet snort and sneered back, "Don't pretend like you care, Tony! Leave me alone!"

He _almost_ did as she said because did he really care? He couldn't remember a time that he actually cared for her wellbeing. Eleanor Stark was a brat that he couldn't get rid of before, and now she was giving him an out. Maybe it was the idea that his mother would be disappointed in him ( _"It's your job, Tony!"_ ) or it was the fact she was five years old sobbing like someone had died that he ignored her demands.

The teen sighed and sat on the edge of her bed. His hand hovered over her back to rub it, but he halted (doesn't his mother do that to comfort him?) and settled on patting her shoulder once. "What's wrong, kid? Something's obviously made you upset."

Eleanor gave a muffled response and Tony rolled his eyes. "I can't understand you. Come on," he coaxed. "Look at me."

After some deliberation, the girl decided on sitting up and facing him. Her eyes was puffy, tear tracks on her red cheeks and some of her hair was stuck to her face. She looked a mess as she wiped the snot away and glared at him.

"You're what's wrong," she glared even harder. "You, Daddy, even Mommy." Her eyes filled with tears again, and Tony just stared at her, taken back. "The kids at school say that I was just a mistake and that you guys don't want me around because I'm not as smart as you and Daddy. That I don't deserve to be a Stark," she blubbered, rubbing her hands on her eyes to try and stop the tears. "And they're right! Daddy isn't around and all he does is yell at you or send me away, Mommy doesn't have time, and you don't even want me to be your sister!"

Eleanor was wailing by now, her body shaking as the cries came out of her mouth. Tony just gaped at her, his own hard heart cracking slightly at the little girl in front of him.

"I-I couldn't even say hi to y-you when you came back," she continued, difficult to understand by now, but Tony focused on her words. "I k-knew that you'd just get m-mad and say s-something mean."

 _Is that what I do?_ he thought dumbly. _Say something mean and make her cry?_

"Come on, kid," Tony stumbled over his words, thinking back to all the times she had tried to talk to him. "I don't say mean things. Maybe you just... think they're mean."

He cringed at his own words, and even Eleanor rolled her eyes at his excuse, hiccuping slightly. "Oh yeah? I'm not so stupid that saying things like 'Why do you think I'd want to talk to you?' or 'Leave me alone' aren't mean. You even add bad words."

Tony struggled to wrap his head around it, definitely realizing that what she said was true. He treated her like shit when he was home, and despite everything that Tony Stark was, he couldn't help but feel guilty at the thought of treating a _five-year old_ like she was nothing.

He sighed and ran a hand down his face, looking at the little girl in front of him. She really did look a lot like him: same dark brown, wavy hair that looked as unkempt as ever, same light brown eyes, same tan skin, and the exact same scowl. She looked little like their mother except for her facial structure, and it was jarring to really _look_ at her. Their parents weren't around, and if he thought he had a hard time with it, he could only imagine what she was feeling. He couldn't remember a time when he came home crying so hard or a time when the kids at school bullied him.

"You know what," he tried to crack a smile. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault, kid, and I shouldn't have said those things. Can you forgive me, Eleanor?"

Eleanor frowned at him, arms crossed, looking every bit of the brat she was - _don't call her a brat, don't call her a brat_ \- and Tony was sure that she would brush him off in a typical Stark fashion. He was pleasantly surprised when she grinned at him, childish joy in her once sad eyes.

"As long as you hang out with me when you're home," she bargained, startling him when she flung herself into his arms. "I usually just talk to Jarvis, but I wanna talk to you because I miss you when you're gone!"

 _Maybe she is an idiot_ , Tony thought, some fondness creeping in, as he carefully wrapped his arms around her. He laughed.

"Well, it's your lucky day, Eleanor. You're gonna have as the best big brother."


	2. birth of a superhero

"Eleanor.."

"Where's Tony, Pep? He was supposed to meet me in New York after the thing in Afghanistan."

The phone was silent for a couple of seconds, and Eleanor stopped tapping her pen and sat up straighter.

"Pep? What's going on?"

The woman on the phone took a shaky breath. "Uh, Tony, he's missing, El. They're looking for him right now!" she rushed to add in. "They're going to find him, there's no doubt about it."

Eleanor stared at the wall for a few seconds, gripping the phone tighter. Her brother was missing? She was sure that he had loads of protection there in the warring Middle East, but he was _missing_?

"I'm coming to Malibu. Send the jet."

Pepper protested, "No, you don't need to come all the way here, Eleanor! I know that you've just got your practice going and you're needed there. I can keep you-"

"Send the jet, Pepper. _Now_ ," the younger Stark seethed, leaving no room for argument. She hung up the phone and stared at it. With a yell, Eleanor hurled it against the wall, not even denting the Stark Phone. Breathing heavily, she swiped everything off of her desk, causing all of the case files, papers, and scans to float to the floor.

 _Bastard_ , she thought angrily, tears pricking her eyes. _Stupid, idiotic, moronic asshole. Out of everything, you're missing in the desert._

Eleanor fell into her chair heavily, wiping a hand down her face. _Starks don't cry, Starks don't cry, Starks don't cry._ The mantra kept repeating even though her cheeks were wet and nose was runny. The idiot was supposed to meet up with her and discuss what the two of have been up to (Eleanor was planning an intervention for her _stupid_ older brother, but he didn't know that) and he even decided to come to New York instead of making her fly out to Malibu like usual. It was supposed to be a day full of her trashing all of his life decisions so far and him asking her when was the last time she got laid. It was supposed to be normal.

She didn't know how long she was just sitting there until a beep from her phone alerted her to the arrival of Happy to bring her to the jet. Reluctantly, Eleanor rose from her seat and glanced at the mess she made. A pang of guilt went through her at the thought of leaving everyone here on their own, but it was quickly squashed by the overwhelming _sadness_ and absolute _fury_ she was feeling at the moment.

"Carol," Eleanor called out to the older woman. "I'm going to be gone for awhile... I'm not sure how long, and I'm sorry to ask you, but can you run this in my absence?" she smiled at Carol. "If there's any trouble, you can contact me, but I'll be dealing with some... family issues."

The woman gave her a pity-filled gaze and nodded her agreement. Eleanor attempted another smile before finding Happy waiting for her at the front. He nodded at her, a frown on his face, and Eleanor gave his arm a pat.

"How many are out there?"

"Enough to know that you've been crying and tearing things apart, Miss Stark."

Cursing, Eleanor took the sunglasses from Happy's hands, thrusting them on her face and smoothing herself down. Once getting the signal from Happy, the two left to be met with camera flashes and a flurry of "Miss Stark!"s and "Doctor!"s. Eleanor held her chin up like a good Stark would do and marched behind Happy, ignoring the buzzing of voices.

"Miss Stark, do you know anything of your brother's disappearance?"

"Miss Stark, what will you do about Stark Industries?"

"Will you be quitting the practice, Doctor?"

Clenching her jaw, Eleanor finally made it into the sleek black vehicle and threw her sunglasses off. Her brown eyes were still watery and red, and she dropped her head into her hands, waiting to get back to Malibu already.

* * *

"Obie," Eleanor shook the older man's hand before he embraced her tightly.

"Oh, Eleanor, I'm so sorry," he consoled and her eyes filled with water again before she blinked them away. Pulling away, Obadiah gave her a strong pat on the shoulder, pity in his eyes. "I'm just as surprised as you, and I hate to do this, but we need to figure out where the company stands."

"You want to do this now?" Pepper asked incredulously, marching right over to Eleanor and wrapping an arm around her, squeezing her. "She just finds out her brother is missing and you're seriously concerned about _that_?"

"It's fine, Pepper," Eleanor placated, sending the woman an encouraging smile. "I figured we would need to talk about this." Eleanor gave Obadiah a steely look. "I want to set this straight, Obie. I'm not quitting the practice."

Obadiah nodded at her understandingly. "I'm not asking you to. But, it would be easier for you to run the company without worrying about that. If it makes things easier," a glint went through his eyes. "You could give me custody so to speak until Tony comes back."

Vehemently, Eleanor shook her head, a frown on her face. "It's _Stark_ Industries, not _Stane_ Industries. I'm perfectly capable of handling both, and you know it. Where are the papers?"

If Obadiah had any problems with her decision, he didn't voice it, but Eleanor could see the disappointment on his face. She gave Pepper a pat on the arm and pulled away from the assistant. Marching away from the two, Eleanor called over her shoulder, "Surely you want to figure this out quickly, right, Obie? I can't do that if you're standing there with the papers. Just know that as soon as Tony comes back, I'm signing this shit back over."

She didn't wait for a response.

* * *

Tony's absence was hard on Eleanor. Her brother was one of the most important people in her life (besides Pepper and Rhodey, of course, but she'd never let Tony know he had to share the throne), and for him to be missing - _captured_ \- she wasn't handling it as good as she said she was.

Dark bruises under her eyes were noticeable, no matter how much makeup Eleanor wanted to put on. She spent most of her time in Tony's lab staring at all of his unfinished plans, hoping to spark some type of genius in order to finish it for him, but she was just not as exceptional in mechanical engineering as he was. Every time she fell asleep, it consisted of her mind conjuring up the worst possible things ( _Tony dying, Tony never being found again, Tony looking for help, Tony dying_ ) and she would jerk awake in a cold sweat.

JARVIS tried his best, but considering he was an AI, he wasn't the best at comfort, and Eleanor appreciated it, she really did, but it wasn't the same.

"Miss Stark, Miss Potts is asking for your presence. She says it's urgent."

JARVIS forced her out of her daze, and Eleanor lifted her head from her arms, blinking a few times. "How urgent?"

"She says it has to do with Sir."

Eleanor jumped up - it had been _weeks, months_ \- and sprinted to the kitchen where Pepper was most likely residing. The redhead was grinning with a few tears in her eyes.

"They found him."

* * *

She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she watched him get out of the plane. Missing a limb? In a wheelchair? Traumatized? Maybe one of those but not her brother in a sling, strutting around like normal. Despite the fond irritation she felt, she couldn't help the tears in her eyes as he stepped in front of her, a crooked smile on his face.

"Hey, Ellie."

Eleanor stared at him, looking up and down to check for any serious injuries. The only thing she could visibly see was the sling and the way his body was thinner than before, but he was fully intact. Meeting his eyes again, Eleanor threw herself into his already open arms, burying her face into his shoulder.

"You idiot," her cry was muffled. "If you do some stupid shit like that again, I swear I'll come find you and kill you myself."

Tony laughed softly and squeezed her back just as tightly, mindful of his injury. "I love you too, Ellie. And I don't plan on getting kidnapped again, but thanks for the warning."

He released her and kissed her on the head before heading to Pepper, and Eleanor wiped her eyes, smiling. Everything should go back to normal.

* * *

"What the hell is that?"

Tony tapped the thing on his chest. "This is a mini Arc Reactor. Not going to go into all the details about what it is because you wouldn't really get it, but what it does is keep me alive."

Eleanor stepped closer and leaned in to inspect it. The blue glow was bright up close, and she was surprised that she never noticed it until now. She looked back up at him. "Does everyone else know?"

He shook his head and pulled his shirt back into place. "I don't want everyone else to know. Ellie... there's some things that I need to tell you about that I learned over there and it - it might be hard to believe, but I need you to trust me."

"I trust with everything, Tony, you know that."

He ignored her and led her down to his lab. Curiously, Eleanor followed after him, staring at the back of his head intently as he urged her further in.

"I've been working on this and I - I can't really explain exactly what happened over there, but Ellie, my weapons were _killing_ innocent people. And - and I think this will change that."

A red and gold suit stood in front of her, and Eleanor could only gape in awe. It truly was a sight to behold. She knew Tony had holed himself up for long periods of time not knowing what he was working on, and it was starting to worry her to the point where she was afraid to go back to New York, but _this_ was... something.

"Is it a, uh, super suit?" she finally asked, turning back to look at him. "Tony this is amazing."

In typical Stark fashion, Tony puffed up at the compliment and smirked. "Well what did you expect?"

Eleanor wasn't sure what type of stuff Tony had gotten himself into, and after this, she could only think that he had it under control.

* * *

Tony was in deep shit, it turns out. Deep shit that involved Obadiah planning to get rid of the two Starks in any means possible.

Which was why she was staring into the eyes of Obadiah Stane in a suit that looked suspiciously like Tony's, guns facing her.

"Tony's already taken care of," the man that helped raise her stated matter-of-factly. "Once you're out of the way, it makes things so much easier."

Eleanor wiped the blood and sweat from her eyes and glared as harshly as she could while shaking in fear. "Yeah? What are you going to say happened to us? I'm not sure you know how autopsies work, asshole."

Pepper was behind her, looking as if she wanted to throw up at the turn of events, and Eleanor hoped, prayed to whatever being would listen, that she wouldn't do anything that would cause her any harm.

"Weren't you friends with my father?" Eleanor rushed out, hoping to bide some time. _If Tony seriously waits any longer, I swear to everything holy..._ "Howard must be absolutely rolling in his grave at the thought of you doing something like this, don't you think?"

A laugh came out of the suit, and Eleanor's heart hammered in her chest at the sound. "Who cares?" Obadiah asked, powering up her execution weapon. "He's _dead_!"

Eleanor shut her eyes and braced herself for the influx of bullets that would surely make her into Swiss cheese, but they never came. Peeking an eye open, Eleanor watched as her brother plowed into Obadiah in his own suit, effectively changing his attention from her. She sagged in relief and fell to the floor, hands shaking. Pepper quickly embraced her and put her hands on Eleanor's cheeks.

"Eleanor? El? Hey, you're okay," Pepper soothed, staring into the young Stark's eyes to catch her attention. "Tony's here and he's going to fix it, alright? Breathe with me."

Eleanor took a few breaths with Pepper before calming slightly. She glanced back at the fight then back to Pepper before putting a hand on her head.

"Pep? Remind me to kill Tony after this," she muttered, causing the redhead to laugh shakily. "And I'm pretty sure that fucker gave me a concussion."

Pepper winced at the sight of Eleanor's head and moved her hair to get a better look. "It looks pretty bad. You know more about it than I do, but I would get it checked out after this - by someone other than you."

Grumbling, Eleanor agreed.

* * *

She was forced to watch the conference from a hospital room. Tony wouldn't let her leave even though the doctors gave her the ok, but Tony felt that flashing lights and a lot of noise would bother her more than she let on (he was only somewhat right and Eleanor wasn't going to admit it).

So here she was, watching her brother look through the cards given to him ( _when did he use cards?_ ) before decidedly announcing, "I am Iron Man."

And as she saw the smug look on his face, Eleanor couldn't help but laugh loudly at the turn of events. _What an idiot_.

* * *

so i watched infinity war and WOW


	3. december 1991

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry, Tony. Your parents... they didn't make it."

Twenty-one year old Tony Stark stared at Obadiah Stane, his father's business partner, a man that was practically an uncle.

And now the person to inform him of his new orphan status.

Obadiah was giving him a look full of pity and sorrow, and Tony felt sick just looking at him. He felt sick at the thought of his parents' death, he felt sick at the realization that they were _not_ coming back from their trip, he felt sick at the idea that he would be taking over Stark Industries at twenty-one (he couldn't even take care of himself!), he felt sick.

He almost vomited then and there at the idea of telling his sister, his eleven-year old sister, that her mom and dad weren't coming back.

"Where's Ellie?" Tony finally asked numbly, running his hand through is hand then down his face. _They're dead. They're actually dead._ "Does she know?"

Regretfully, Obadiah nodded. "She's been told. I don't think she completely understands, but she knows."

Tony stood abruptly and pushed past Obadiah, one goal in his mind, ignoring the protests from the other man. Tony checked the obvious place she could be - her room - but wasn't very surprised to see her missing. Eleanor had a habit of hiding away whenever she was upset, and it always consisted of Tony searching their large home for her.

He checked his own room (that's where she was whenever their butler finally passed), the bathroom, the kitchen, and the offices before standing in front of the last door.

Their parents' door.

 _You can do it. Just open the door. She's gotta be in there._

Steeling himself by taking a deep breath, Tony pushed the door open, a pang in his chest at stepping foot into his now deceased parents' bedroom. In any other situation, he would've holed himself up, drinking until he passed out, waking up and doing it again. And he even thought about turning around and doing just that until he saw the lump underneath the blankets on his parents' bed.

Slowly, he approached, listening for any sound coming from the young girl, but he only got a few quickened breaths and sniffles.

"Ellie?" he called out softly, a twitch coming from the lump. Tony hesitated briefly before sitting next to her. "Can you come out?"

He wouldn't have been surprised if she didn't (dear everything holy, she was stubborn as hell), and he was fully prepared to just sit it out with her until either of them fell asleep. Surprisingly, however, she slowly removed the comforter from her face, revealing it to be red and splotchy but no tears. Tony's face softened at the lost look on her young face.

"Are they really gone?" Eleanor asked in a small voice, climbing out to lean next him. Immediately, Tony wrapped his arms tightly around his sister and rubbed her back. "Yeah, kiddo... They're - they're not coming back."

Eleanor's own arms tightened around him and a shuttering breath left her.

"Did you know I was supposed to go with them? Mom didn't - she didn't want to leave me here. She, uh, she said that it would be good for me to go on a trip," Eleanor explained quietly into his shirt, causing him to have trouble understanding her. "But I told her no because you were here," her breath hitched. "I-I wanted to hang out with you before you left for school again. Just - what if I was _there_? Do you think they would still be d-dead?"

A cold feeling was in the pit of Tony's stomach. He knew exactly what she was feeling. The sorrow, the anger, the hopelessness, and especially the _guilt_ that he couldn't believe his small, eleven-year old sister was feeling. He thought about all of the things he could've said to his parents ( _His sweet mother was gone_ ) and thought about what he could've done that could've somehow prevented this from happening.

But this wasn't something young, sweet, innocent Eleanor should be feeling.

Tony pulled her away from him and grabbed her face gently, yet sternly. "Ellie, I need you to listen to me, okay? What happened with Mom and Dad... that is _not_ your fault, alright?" He forced her head to nod. "It was an accident that couldn't have been prevented. Hell, if you were with them - I don't want to think about that. Just - I'm glad that you're still here, Ellie."

He hugged her again listening to the gut-wrenching sobs escape her body, and Tony felt a few tears of his own slip through. He couldn't, no _wouldn't_ , imagine what it would be like if Eleanor was in that car with their parents. If the little girl in his arms was gone, Tony was confident that he too wouldn't be long in this world.

Eventually, Eleanor tired herself out and fell asleep on top of Tony. He debated whether he should take her back to her own room or to his room before decidedly tucking her in the bed they were already occupying. Kicking off his shoes, Tony climbed in next to her and let out a deep, weary sigh. He hadn't shared a bed with his sister since Jarvis died because it made her feel better and allowed to know that Tony was still alive and breathing, not going anywhere. He didn't particularly mind it because it also gave him his own reassurances that Eleanor was indeed with him and not six feet under.

When Tony finally allowed himself to sleep, he cursed every being that was listening for causing his sister to cry.


	4. college woes

Eleanor's college days weren't necessarily stressful, but they were irritating. Her undergraduate schooling went quickly, and it was actually Pepper that had to convince her to attend her own graduation ( _"It's an important milestone!"_ ) but she was entering the last stretch of medical school, and it was much of the same.

She knew from the beginning that she was gifted with genius Stark-level intelligence, but Eleanor didn't enjoy the same things as her brother and father. She wasn't into robots and building weapons or dealing with mechanics. The closest thing she felt with them was an interest in prosthetics, and that wasn't anywhere close to the same as what they liked.

Maria Stark was a saint through and through. She realized that her youngest wasn't like the men of the family, and despite Howard's constant nudging towards a mechanical direction, Maria encouraged Eleanor to ignore him and do whatever she wanted. And what Maria Stark said, Eleanor listened.

"How's the Ph.D. coming along?" Pepper's voice rang through Eleanor's small apartment. Eleanor was tapping away on her laptop, multiple mugs of coffee surrounding her desk as she sighed out, "I told you that my first go around wasn't approved, right? Apparently, research involving telomerase and DNA and the manipulations of it can't be considered 'accurate' from a student. So I had to change it up, and now I'm finishing up my dissertation on artificial organs and junk like that."

Pepper hummed. "I can't say I understand, but how is everyone treating you there? I know that you have to be the youngest, right?"

Eleanor snorted before slamming her laptop shut and leaning back in her chair. "You remember how hard it was to get my internship right? And the residency? Imagine that times five including the occasional girl trying to get on my good side for Tony. Other than that, it's great."

It wasn't a secret that Tony's assistant worried about the younger Stark. With her boss being a self-destructive egomaniac, Pepper felt almost obligated to make sure that Eleanor didn't follow that road. Eleanor would be lying if she said she didn't like it - Pepper was one of her favorite people.

"We're planning on coming to the graduation, which you _are_ going to," Pepper sternly asserted at the sound of Eleanor's protests. "El, this is something not many people get to do, and you're accomplishing it at your age. Please be happy for yourself."

The guilt coursed through her veins at those words. Pepper was a welcomed change to the dynamic between Eleanor and Tony, and occasionally Rhodey, and it was hard to have someone like her. Tony was supportive, there was no doubt about it, but he was also successful in his own right, dealing with the company and his own wild antics that sometimes it was difficult for the two to communicate. Pepper, however, made it a point to talk with Eleanor more than once or twice a week so that everyone could keep up with each other.

"I am, Pep," Eleanor sighed out, hunching over in her chair and rubbing her forehead. "I worked hard, found something I liked to do, and I'm damn good at it. I don't know... there's just certain times that I don't really, I guess, _want_ to do this anymore. It's hard to explain."

The line was silent, and Eleanor was worried she said something wrong. She was going through what every twenty-two year old went through in college, right? At least, that's what she had read.

"Are you sure everything is okay, El?" Pepper's voice was soft. "I'm sure it wouldn't take a lot of convincing to get Tony and Rhodey together to come out there, you know?"

"You don't need to."

"But, if you're feeling down - "

"I'm not feeling down. I-I just haven't slept in about thirty hours because I've been working on this damn dissertation. I defend it next week so I've just been stressed," Eleanor tried to reason. No matter the loneliness or sadness she was feeling in the home stretch, she wouldn't feel any better if she were to uproot the others to fly all the way to Boston for her. And she especially didn't want Harvard Med to make a big deal about Tony Stark visiting before graduation.

"Look I gotta go, Pepper. I'll text you the graduation details. Love you, bye." Eleanor hung up quickly and placed her head in her hands.

She couldn't recall when it started exactly, but sometime during her time in medical school, Eleanor felt her attitude change. She thought it could've been after her initial research was rejected immediately despite her dissertation being finished, or maybe it could've been the time she started to feel ostracized from everyone here, she didn't know. What she did know is that she felt... weird.

Weird enough for her to realize her sleeping schedule was even worse and she wasn't eating as much as she used to. Weird enough to know that had trouble truly _wanting_ to do anything; her pride was the only thing preventing her from giving up completely. Eleanor couldn't see herself as anything but a doctor or something in the medical field, and even as she sat there in the dim light of her apartment, she could only envision herself in scrubs.

Eleanor knew Pepper was worried about her. Eleanor was smart enough to know that she was going down a dark road that she might never come back from, but it was _hard._ Sometimes, she thought that maybe just sharing all of her doubts and issues, she would feel somewhat better. Or once she finally finished getting her Ph.D. she would feel better. Or if she moved back to Malibu, she would feel better. But, she didn't have someone she could just talk to whenever she wanted, she wasn't finished with her Ph.D. and she just tired of it, and she wasn't in Malibu.

Was Eleanor a little depressed? She wouldn't say so, but logically, she knew if she were to talk to a therapist or any other doctor, they would disagree with her. And when she would argue that it was just stress, they would say that it was the stress that most likely caused it.

Eleanor sighed again and reopened her laptop, trying to finish the rest of her dissertation.

* * *

"Tony, I'm worried about your sister."

Tony looked up from his tinkering to see his assistant. Quirking an eyebrow, he asked, "JARVIS hasn't said anything weird has happened to her. Why are you so worried?"

Pepper couldn't help but shift slightly. "She just doesn't seem... happy? I just finished talking with her and I think that she needs us - needs _you_ to see her."

Tony set his things down and leaned back in his seat. "She said she didn't want to see us until graduation," he pointed out, bitterness seeping through his tone. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't notice what Pepper was saying. Each time he spoke with Eleanor, she seemed more and more defeated? Sad? Aloof? He couldn't place a word on it, but he definitely knew his little sister wasn't acting like normal. "And I don't think it'll make anything better if we suddenly surprise her."

Pepper chewed her lip thoughtfully, and Tony rubbed a hand down his face. Eleanor was graduating in about two weeks (she made sure she didn't have to stay any longer than she should) and he wanted to respect her wishes despite how much he hated them.

"What if you _happen_ to have an important meeting in Boston?" Pepper suggested hopefully. "One that you have to go to, and you just so happen to run into her? Tony, I really think she needs someone right now."

Tony should've said no. Eleanor would've wanted him to say no, and he could already imagine her reaction ( _"I told you not to come, you idiot!"_ ) but perhaps it was his own worry and his own selfishness that made him grin at his assistant. "I'm so glad I hired you. Oh, make sure Rhodey shows up - Ellie is gonna be pissed and she doesn't yell at me as much when he's there."

* * *

Eleanor jerked awake at the sound of a knock on her door. Blearily, she sat up from the couch and shoved her notebooks off of her chest before stumbling to open the door.

"Surprise," Tony chimed with a singsong voice, Rhodey grinning next to him, prompting Eleanor to slam the door shut. "Oh come on, Ellie, open up so your favorite people can visit!"

"I explicitly said 'not until graduation', didn't I?" Eleanor answered, opening the door again, Tony pushing through and kissing her on the side of head. Rhodey followed after giving her a tight hug, "Sorry, El. We had some business in Boston so we thought we'd stop by."

 _Business, my ass._ "Pepper talked to you, didn't she?"

"No," the two men in front her objected quickly, and Eleanor rolled her eyes fondly, dramatically throwing her arms out. "Well, here's my place. I would say sorry about the mess, but I didn't know you guys were coming."

The three of them eyed the room in disdain as they could see the large amount of dishes piling up, papers strewn everywhere, and a blanket and pillow on the couch, indicating she spent most nights in the living room. At Rhodey's pointed look towards the couch, Eleanor yawned and shrugged. "I can only sit in my room for so long."

Tony and Rhodey shared a look before nodding at each other, Eleanor staring at them suspiciously. "What just happened?"

Tony grabbed her by the shoulders and directed her to her bedroom. "You, my dear sister, are going to get ready, and the three of us are going to go out. If you don't want lots of cameras, I'd wear something like a hat or a mask."

"I'm not wearing a mask."

"Hat, it is, then."

Eleanor grumbled at him before shoving him out of her room to get changed, not missing the wide smirk on his face.

* * *

"So what it is that we're doing?" Eleanor asked as the three walked, _walked_ , around Boston. Rhodey bumped shoulders with her. "Whatever you want to do. I don't come to Boston a lot so I don't know what to do around here."

"Yeah, Ellie," Tony cut in. "We came to visit you so be a generous host and show us around."

"Don't hosts usually invite their guests?"

"Not this host."

Eleanor just sighed and readjusted her hat and sunglasses (how could anyone _hide_ like this?) before dragging the two into her favorite cafe, mumbling, "You're paying for my lunch."

Tony grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

It was a long day, and Eleanor was tired, and she was feeling much lighter than she had in a long time. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but Pepper did her a huge favor by sending her brother and Rhodey here. She showed them all of her favorite hang out spots (there wasn't many), and even showed them a little around campus. She surprisingly let them read bits and pieces of her dissertation, in which Rhodey just nodded along while Tony analyzed everything, making her nervous.

"El, this is... wow, I don't even know what to say," Rhodey told her, awe in his voice that made her shift uncomfortably. "I obviously can't understand all of it, but the gist of it - you know this is genius and groundbreaking, right?"

Eleanor huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I guess. I'm still upset about not being able to go all the way through with my other piece."

Rhodey nodded understandingly at her, and the two waited for Tony's reaction.

She wasn't sure when her brother's approval started mattering so much to her ( _definitely when Mom and Dad died_ ), but she definitely didn't want him reading everything she'd written. It was on a whim that she allowed them to, the happy feeling from the day they had pushing her to do it, but now she was feeling the anxiousness.

It wasn't as if Tony shot her down anytime she did something. In fact, he was the most supportive person she had, and maybe she relied too much on his stamp of approval, but without it, she would toss everything away and start anew.

Tony looked up from her computer and gave her a firm nod with a soft look in his eyes. "This is great, Ellie. They should hand you the degree as soon as you finish," he declared, and she gave him a small smile. "We're so proud of you. _I'm_ so proud of you."

He drew her into an unexpected hug that knocked the breath out of her. Alarmed, she looked to Rhodey who held the same proud smile that adorned her brother's face, and Eleanor felt tears prick her eyes involuntarily. She gripped Tony tightly, a small sob escaping her lips. She didn't know why she was crying. Stress? Relief? Happiness? She couldn't pinpoint it, but whatever the reason, her heart felt lighter, and she was feeling the best she had in months.

Tony pulled away and wiped the tears from her face, tucking her hair behind her ears. "We'll clean this place up - it's a dump, sorry - while you go get some sleep. I know you've been stressing out over this whole dissertation thing, and you're starting to look like a raccoon."

Eleanor gave a wet chuckle before nodding at the two of them. She gave each of them a kiss on the cheek before collapsing on her bed.

She wasn't suddenly feeling one hundred percent after the visit, but she was definitely feeling better.


	5. natasha romanoff

Natasha Romanoff was not somebody that got angry easily. Irritated? Yes. Annoyed? Most definitely. But angry? Not so much.

Eleanor Stark was dangerously close to making her angry.

Natasha had an idea about what she was going to have to deal with when she was told to keep an eye on the Starks because, well, they were _Starks_. Tony was dying and his sister was on the radar of _many_ different people, and Natasha was sure she'd do the job with a significant amount of headaches.

And they were almost all because of the younger Stark.

"Wow, thanks for the invite to the party, Tony."

Natasha turned her attention from Pepper to look at the new arrival. Eleanor Stark stood there in casual clothes and a stern glare, eyes only on her brother in the boxing ring. She couldn't deny and say she was somewhat surprised - nobody had any idea when she would show up. Her practice was in New York, and she showed up in Malibu at random intervals. And by Tony's expression, he was as surprised as Natasha.

"Ellie!" Tony nervously greeted. "I didn't know you were coming?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes and came to stand beside Pepper and Natasha. She cast Natasha a wary glance before wrapping her arm around Pepper's. "Well, I came to celebrate. Not you. Pepper is the new CEO and I'm fully prepared to get drunk for her."

"No, no, no," Pepper immediately protested, flicking her eyes to Natasha to gauge her reaction. Natasha placed a polite smile on her face, all the while studying the new addition to their group.

Eleanor looked a lot like Tony. They had the same coloring and slim build, but whereas Tony had packed on some muscle, Eleanor had a look of someone that didn't watch their diet as much. The two shared the same sleeping habits, she guessed, by the circles under their eyes and the energy that could only be from an excess amount of caffeine.

"So who's this? She must be new because I've never seen her." Pepper went to answer, but Eleanor continued, "If you're an assistant, don't answer the question - you won't be around long."

A flare of annoyance went through Natasha, and Pepper sighed exasperatedly. "This is the notary, Eleanor. She's not an assistant."

"What's your name, lady?" Tony called from the ring, and Natasha answered, "Rushman. Natalie Rushman."

"Front and center. Come into the church."

Pepper began to protest, and Eleanor started laughing, and even patted Natasha on the back. "Please, _please_ do it. It'll be a show either way, but I'm hoping you don't lose because I don't think any of us want to deal with a lawsuit."

Natasha rolled her eyes inwardly before assuring Pepper, "It's no problem."

She stepped into the ring and watched Eleanor hit her brother in the arm, hearing, "Why didn't you tell me? Pepper called me, and I came over immediately! Idiot."

"Have you ever boxed before?" Happy asked her, and she nodded. _Boxing might not be the right word_. "What, like Tae Bo? Booty Boot Camp? Crunch? Something like that?"

Natasha frowned and cleared her throat.

"Just start!" Eleanor yelled out. "Or I'll come in and kick both of your asses!"

"Eleanor!" Pepper hissed warningly, and Eleanor yelped at the pinch she received.

"Rule number one: Never take your eyes off your opponent." Happy went to take a swing, and Natasha catches it and wraps her legs around his head, flipping him over with a grunt. The thud was resounding, and she could her the exclamations from her audience.

"That wasn't boxing, notary!" Eleanor called, and Natasha couldn't help but send a glare to the woman. "But you won so I guess that means no lawsuit, right?"

Yeah, Natasha definitely knew that Eleanor Stark was annoying and a menace, but one she had to deal with, she thought to herself watching as Eleanor gripped Tony harshly on the shoulder, eyes flashing angrily.

* * *

"Justin Hammer? Oh man, uh, I have something else I need to do, like... not be here. Okay, nice seeing you again."

Natasha watched as Eleanor scrambled away from Hammer and stood with her. The Stark flipped her hair away from her face and grinned at Natasha. "So, notary, I see you've upgraded from legal, yeah? How did you manage that?" Eleanor suddenly squinted her eyes. "Did you or are you planning on sleeping with Tony? Because then I don't think we can talk anymore."

Natasha shook her head and gritted out, "I didn't take this job to sleep with Mr. Stark. I took it because it pays much better, and it does give me a much better opportunity in the world."

She wasn't technically lying. Her better opportunity came with being closer to Tony, and he did offer her more money.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. Although, I think you're too pretty to be an assistant or whatever, so it wouldn't surprise me if you were, I don't know, a spy or mole or something," Eleanor replied offhandedly before leaving without a goodbye to join Pepper at their table. At her words, Natasha felt her heart race slightly at the implications of her words. There was no way that her cover could've been blown. She made sure of it. SHIELD had created Natalie Rushman for a reason.

But her worries were squashed when Tony Stark was seen in a race car, and Eleanor sent her a nasty glare saying, "You can't be a spy if you let the guy you're spying on die, I guess."

* * *

Natasha didn't know how it was possible, but Eleanor caused even more problems when she wasn't around.

"Sir, it seems that Hammer has Eleanor Stark in custody," Natasha relayed to her superior, a tick in her jaw because _of course_ , the idiot got herself in a situation. Her brother was trying to solve his dying problem and now _this_? She was sure that all Starks were problematic and nothing would change her mind.

Nick Fury was angry as he asked, "And how did that happen? I thought I told you to keep an eye on them, Agent Romanoff."

"She went on her own. Pepper said she was angry about something Hammer said about Tony, so she went to yell at him," Natasha replied, the explanation sounding ridiculous to even her because _who the hell does that_? Fury remained silent for a few seconds.

" _What_?" he exploded out, not hiding his incredulity. "How do we know?"

"After she left, Vanko informed Tony of the situation. I don't think he'll kill her," she informed, adamant on the thought. "His problem is with Tony, so the most he'd do would knock her around, keep her tied up."

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. He waved his hand to dismiss her. "Make sure that idiot isn't dead because of her smart mouth. What a mess."

What a mess, indeed.

* * *

"He's gone."

Ivan Vanko fled the scene, leaving behind dead bodies and a familiar brunette tied to a chair with a black eye and a swollen jaw. Happy immediately set to removing the binds, and Eleanor actually let out a laugh, some blood coating her white teeth. "Got out as fast as he could - what a coward. Hey, notary, what are you wearing?"

Natasha spared her a glance and didn't answer and set to typing.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Happy asked, and she responded, "Rebooting Rhodey's suit."

"Do either of you have some pain meds? A hydro would be nice. Or some alcohol."

"I could knock you out to make you feel better," Natasha offered nonchalantly, and Eleanor let out a sound of protest.

"Don't knock out my sister, Agent Romanoff," Tony's face appeared on screen. "Ellie, you look like hell, but seeing as Natasha has endearingly offered to hit you, I'm going to assume you're okay."

"I thought your name was Natalie," Eleanor accused, and Natasha quipped, "I'm surprised you remembered. You've only called me 'notary.'"

"I figured you wouldn't be around long," Eleanor shrugged before looking back at Tony. "Are you still dying?"

"Dying? Were you dying?" A shrill voice, and Natasha saw Pepper's face pop up on screen. Both Eleanor and Tony stammered to reply, and Eleanor finally responded with, "Nope, no one is dying around here. Our good friend here," Eleanor gave Natasha a hard pat. "Gave me some meds. It's - it's making say some weird things, Pep, so no, we're all alive around here."

Natasha sent Eleanor a glare, and the woman gave her an awkward smile. Eleanor leaned forward and whispered, "Seriously, though, you don't happen to have something, right? You have the outfit that screams 'narcotics.'"

It took a lot of restraint to not strangle her mission.


	6. apologies

It was supposed to be a simple press event.

Pepper had told him that it would be good for him to go out in the public and attend some opening of some museum that he (didn't remember actually doing) contributed to. To put the icing on the cake, she told him to invite Eleanor to help Stark Industries out, and so, because Pepper knew best, he agreed.

Tony wished he would've listened to the bad feeling he had and declined the invitation.

* * *

"Tony, it's _fine_ ," Eleanor assured, putting some concealer to hide the dark circles under her eyes (when had they gotten so bad?) and turning to him as she blended it in. "It'll be good for all of us to get out there. You know we've been laying low for a long time after the Vanko and Hammer thing."

She sent him a pointed look, and he would've felt much more intimidated by his sister if she wasn't in the middle of making ugly faces to even it all out. He leaned against the doorway of her bathroom, hands in his pocket, already dressed in a nice suit. "I just feel weird about it. And my gut feelings are usually right if you haven't noticed."

And he wasn't wrong. Tony typically had a good sense of foreboding, and even if he didn't always listen to it, it always proved to be right. And he didn't think this time was any different.

Eleanor, however, wasn't buying it. "Pepper asked this of us, Tony, and I'd feel like a piece of shit if I have to see her disappointed face one more time. Besides, I already solved the cases I brought here to Malibu and told the team back in New York what do to - did you know that people, grown ass men, will straight up _eat_ stupid stuff and fuck up their insides? Who the hell does that?" she ranted, and Tony couldn't help but smile at her ramblings. The two of them were so similar that the two of them both had habits of talking quickly and pouring out the thoughts that raced through their heads.

He shook his head at her. "Idiots," he answered, using her favorite word. "No but seriously, do we really need to go? Do you even know what this place is called?"

"It's seriously just Museum of Modern Art. There's supposed to be some Picasso pieces," Eleanor rolled her eyes at him before beginning her mascara. "Suck it up. I think they're planning on serving a lot of food and some expensive alcohol, and I'm here for it."

"I think we should have an intervention - Pepper, Rhodey, and I think you drink too much."

"How many glasses of scotch have you had this morning?" she quipped back before shoving him out. "I need to get dressed then we can go."

"I really think we should just have a day out with just us two," Tony tried to convince once more before relenting at her indignant shout. He sighed and rubbed the space between his eyebrows.

He had a terrible feeling.

* * *

The two Stark siblings looked nice with Tony in his suit and Eleanor in a fashionable jumpsuit with heels that made her the same height as her brother. Happy was behind them, staving off any reaching hands, and Pepper was smiling at Tony's left. The press was happy to see them, throwing out questions that weren't too demeaning, and the owner of the museum was giddy at the thought of one of the most powerful names agreeing to join for the opening of the museum.

His suit was in the suitcase in Eleanor's right hand while her left was hooked with Tony's right arm, and he could almost forget the awful feeling he had moments earlier. Almost.

"Quit fidgeting," Eleanor hissed under her breath under the guise of a polite smile. "You've been squishing my hand."

"Sorry," he bit back. "I told you I didn't want to be here."

"We're already here, so you'll have to deal with it."

If they weren't in public, Tony was sure that the two of them would've gotten into a back and forth argument that would've consisted of them repeating everything from earlier. He was perfectly content with shooting a small scowl to his younger sister each time her eyes flashed dangerously in his direction.

The group approached the owner, and Eleanor set his suitcase down to shake the man's hand (what the hell was his name again?) and kiss his cheeks. He turned his attention to Tony, in which he gave the man a firm shake and a side smile.

"Mr. Stark, I-I can't believe you agreed to come," the man stammered, still shaking his hand. "I'm honored, so _so_ honored. And you brought your sister too, I can't believe it. This - this is incredible," he awed, and Tony grimaced slightly at the man's exuberance before finally pulling his hand away.

"Of course. I mean I did help fund it, and I, uh, I love art," he rambled, catching Eleanor's nod of approval. "You know, Picasso, Van Gogh, and uh, Donatello. You know, all of the guys that have the same name as the ninja turtles."

He felt a pinch on his arm and jumped at the sensation to meet Eleanor's glare.

'Quit it.' she mouthed at him, and Tony rolled his eyes. 'Quit what?' he mouthed back, and she pinched him again, not missing the slight smile on her face.

It happened quickly. One second he was starting to cut the ribbon in front of the doors of the newly opened museum with his sister and friends beside him. The next there was a loud bang, a thud, and screaming. One being, "Eleanor!"

His blood ran cold. He almost didn't want to look. Pepper was the one that yelled, and he didn't want to know what it meant. But he did. Happy was shielding him and brought him down to the ground, and Tony could already see the blood pooling the floor, her dark brown hair fanning her head, and her hands already trying to put pressure on the wound.

"No," he muttered to himself, eyes blown wide, putting his hands where hers were. "No, no, no."

It wasn't in her chest, but by the look on her face, a bullet under her left breast wasn't any better. Pepper was almost hysterical as her eyes went back and forth from Eleanor to Tony. "Tony, we need to get to a hospital! Tony!"

He didn't hear her. He kept his eyes focused on his little sister, the one he helped mold and raise, who was struggling to breathe. He brought his attention to the case holding his suit, a wave of hot rage flowing through him. _I'll kill him_ , he thought viciously. _I'll kill whoever did this_. And he was fully ready to pull away and send Pepper and Happy to keep her alive long enough for them to go the hospital. Eleanor's bloody hands gripping his stopped him.

Her eyes were watery and wide, mouth parted as she tried to take deep breaths. "Don't leave," she whimpered. "I need you here."

And his resolve crumbled, his own eyes watery. He nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat before jerking his head at Happy and Pepper. "Let's go, we don't have time."

Without question, two of his most trusted friends raced towards their vehicle, preparing to speed away from the chaos around them as he scooped his sister up, heart breaking at the small yelp of pain. Her head lolled to his shoulder, and his heart raced. "You're not dying, Ellie," he gritted out, moving as quickly as he could to the car, depositing her in the seat, her head on Pepper's lap as he returned to putting pressure on her wound. "We'll get you some help, but you gotta stay _awake_."

She let out a hum of agreement, and Tony could see a sheen of sweat on her abnormally pale forehead, her hands almost limp under his. He pressed down harder, and she jumped slightly at the jolt of pain. Tony grit his teeth and barked, "Happy, go faster, dammit!"

His driver responded in kind, speeding well over the limit, but Tony didn't care. Eleanor's eyes were glazed, darting around the car in an attempt to focus. Pepper was crying, whispering reassuring words to his sister, and Tony felt like he was dying with her.

Sure, Eleanor had been hurt before. She got into scraps, a concussion or two, maybe even a black eye. He never felt any less guilty or angry, but this... _this_ was different. She had never been this close to danger before. She had never been _shot_ before. He didn't know who it could've been - there were no threats to Iron Man, and she didn't let on to anything strange happening.

When they arrived, Eleanor's breathing was shallow, and her eyes were closed despite his best efforts of keeping her conscious. As soon as he got inside, he started to yell, "I need some help over here! She's been shot!"

He was lucky that nurses got to him in a timely manner because he was close to going ballistic. They took her away, pumping air into her and putting pressure on the wound that just _would not stop bleeding_. He was instructed to wait. Numbly, he collapsed into a chair, Pepper and Happy sitting beside him. Tony looked down at his hands and clenched his fists.

They were covered in her blood. He could feel it under his nails, between his fingers, and starting to get hard and crusty. Abruptly, he stood up and went to the bathroom and turned the sink on as hot as it could go, scrubbing and scrubbing until his hands were red for a different reason.

Tony stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was still styled, his face unmarked, his suit still well-kept despite some splashes of blood.

He hated it.

It wasn't fair. He was the one that had all of the problems, all of the enemies, all of the reasons to get hurt. Eleanor didn't hurt people - she _helped_ the people that were hurt. She wasn't constantly in the limelight, wasn't causing national issues, wasn't on the tabloids that tried to defile the Stark name. No, she was good, and he wasn't. She was hurt, and he wasn't.

Tony wasn't sure how long he sat in the hospital bathroom just staring at his reflection, dangerous thoughts swirling through his head. He was interrupted by Pepper's head poking through the door, eyes still shining with unshed tears but a smile on her face, nonetheless.

"They said she's going to be fine, Tony," she whispered, but it felt all too loud in the silent room. "We can go see her, but she's not awake yet."

It took him a moment to register her words, and when he did, he grabbed her by the hand and darted to the room they learned his sister was staying.

She looked terrible. An oxygen mask on her face (it was still too pale) and he could see the large bulk of wrapping under her gown. The dark circles under her eyes were even more pronounced as her makeup was taken off (a nice nurse did it for her while waiting on him to arrive), and Tony felt his legs walk to the chair alongside the wall. He couldn't bring himself to get too close or touch her because of the guilt that was consuming him.

He _swore_ that he'd protect her, and he seemed to get worse and worse at it as time went on if the situations with Obadiah, Vanko, and _this_ were any indication. He ran a hand down his face, vaguely aware of Pepper and Happy holding Eleanor's hand and talking to her as if she were awake. It was a moment that he didn't want to see.

"Tony..." Happy mumbled quietly. "Pepper and I are going to go and get everything situated for her when she gets better. Gonna call her practice, get her room settled, all that," he stopped for a moment before clapping a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault. And she'll call you an idiot if she sees you like this."

Tony cracked a small smile at that and nodded, not fully believing Happy's own assurances. "I'm going to stay. I'll call you when she's awake."

Happy nodded, and the two left after Pepper placed a kiss on both Eleanor and Tony's foreheads.

Tony sat in the seat watching the rhythmic breathing of sister, hearing the constant beep of the heart monitor, both telltale signs of her surviving.

 _I'm sorry_ , he thought despondently, tears on his cheeks. _I'm so sorry._


	7. pepper potts

Pepper Potts met Eleanor Stark when she was approaching fourteen years old.

She had known all about the younger sister of her boss because who didn't know about the Stark family? Tony had legal custody of the girl, and it was a major news spread when the two decided to leave the estate in New York and move to Malibu on their own. So when Pepper got the job of being Tony Stark's personal assistant, she knew it was inevitable that she would meet her boss' sister.

"Ellie!" Tony called for his sister. "Come meet my new assistant, I think you'll like her this time."

 _This time?_ Pepper wondered. _Is it a rite of passage or something for her to like his assistants?_

A teenager with unruly dark hair bounded down the stairs, a scowl on her young face. "What?" she growled out, arms crossed defiantly. "Tony, I don't _care_ about your assistants, how many times do I need to tell you that?"

Tony waved his hand at her and motioned at Pepper, who stood with her back straight and a polite smile on her face.

"Ellie, meet Pepper Potts. Pepper, this is my sister, Ellie," Tony introduced, and Pepper nodded, holding her hand out, a more genuine smile on her face. "Nice to meet you, Ellie."

"Eleanor," the teen said shortly, shaking her hand roughly. "Nobody calls me that except for him."

"O-oh, I'm sorry," Pepper apologized immediately, not missing the smirk on her boss' face. Eleanor gave her a once over, eyes narrowed, before dismissing her and hugging her brother tightly, face buried in his suit.

"Idiot, you were supposed to be back yesterday. Rhodey had to come feed me," Eleanor complained, drawing away, a small pout on her lips. "He's not a very good cook, and it doesn't like it when I order fast food."

Tony laughed, a much different one than Pepper was used to hearing. It was fond, warm, and she was sure it was only reserved for his sister as it was so unlike his normal self. The family walked away from her, and Tony turned and gave her a cheeky wink in which she rolled her eyes.

If his sister was anything like him, she was going to be in for it.

* * *

"Eleanor?" Pepper knocked on her door. "Is everything alright? Tony asked me to come check up on you."

A crash was heard from the room, and Pepper's heart raced in worry. It slowed down when she heard the familiar, "It's nothing!"

She let out a chuckle and waited for the door to open.

Pepper had been working for Tony Stark now for close to six months, and she had become privy to the dynamic the Stark siblings had. It was strange; Eleanor scolded Tony like she was the older one and made sure he was getting enough sleep, eating enough, and getting his work done while at the same time neglecting her own needs. It was an endless cycle of Pepper practically babysitting the siblings and her wondering how they managed to survive this long.

Eleanor peeked her head out, squinting her eyes at Pepper at the bright light of the hallway. "What do you want?"

Pepper gave her a stern look, and Eleanor sighed, "Sorry. How can I help you, Pepper?" she asked, sarcasm lacing her words. _It's the best I'm going to get_ , Pepper relented. The assistant tried seeing into the room, and Eleanor pushed the door as close to shut as possible, narrowing her eyes. "Pep?"

"Why are you being so secretive?" the woman questioned, a brow raised, noticing the antics of her boss' sister. The now fourteen year old scoffed, "None of your business. That's what secretive means."

Rubbing the space between her brows, Pepper let out a long breath and nodded. "Okay. Okay, that's fine. We just wanted to make sure you were doing alright - you've been locked away up here for about two days now, you know?"

She could see Eleanor shift at the reprimanding tone, and she would've felt guilty if it wasn't needed. At first, Pepper didn't want to intrude on the younger Stark's awkward routine since Tony had never tried to correct it. The odd hours, messy habits, and a condescension only teenagers possessed, Pepper thought it was normal. She wasn't going to bother with it - her job wasn't with Eleanor in the first place.

However, Pepper Potts knew from the beginning that she wasn't going to let a teenager talk down to her.

 _"Have you been taking my files?" Pepper stared down at the girl in front her, hands on her hips. "Those aren't for you."_

 _"My name is on the company," Eleanor retorted back, rummaging through the cabinets of the kitchen. "And it's not like I'm doing anything wrong with them."_

 _"You've made us miss deadlines!" Pepper exclaimed, exasperated, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do you understand why that's wrong? You're smart, Eleanor, please just quit acting like a child."_

 _Eleanor's eyes flashed towards her, anger written all over her face. "Much smarter than you," she replied snidely. "I don't need you to tell me what's morally wrong and not. I can do that myself."_

 _"Obviously not," Pepper quipped back, her own temper flaring. "You've been nothing but rude and disrespectful to everyone since I've known you."_

 _Eleanor's face flushed red. Pepper didn't want to get into an argument with the girl, she really didn't, but god, this had been going on_ so _long. She was tired of dancing around Eleanor's attitude and tired of being treated like dirt by a teenager._

 _"Look, I know you don't like me - I don't know why - but I'm not going to be treated like this by you," Pepper asserted, using the voice that got her many deals. "I don't care if I have to talk to your brother or Rhodey or even Obadiah. They'd agree with me."_

 _Eleanor stared at her for a few long seconds before darting away, not saying anything._

 _Later that day, Eleanor had walked out with a stern faced Tony behind her and downcast eyes, gritting out, "I'm sorry, Pepper. I shouldn't have taken your things or been rude to you."_

 _And because Pepper could see how uncomfortable she was, she gave Eleanor a smile and forgave her._

Eleanor frowned at the question. "Are you sure _Tony_ asked you to come check on me? I haven't seen him in a week."

 _Oh_ , Pepper thought dumbly. _That's right. Tony has been gone._ Instead of showing the slight discomfort she felt, Pepper nodded. "He's just been busy, Eleanor. You know he'd be here himself."

The young girl's face scrunched up at statement before shutting the door all the way. "I'm fine, you can go away," she said through the door. Pepper could hear her mutter, "Busy, busy, _busy_."

Normally, Pepper would leave, tell her boss that his sister was fine, and not dwell on what happened. She would go back to work, focus on the company's next move, and plan (and then force) a meeting for Tony for potential buyers.

Pepper didn't have any siblings. She grew up an only child and both of her parents were still alive and healthy; she talked with them once a week. She had friends growing up, made new friends now, and was never alone unless willingly. She couldn't think of a time where she felt unloved or even unwanted by her family even when she left home to pursue her career that took up almost all of her time.

Despite never truly knowing the feeling, Pepper was sure that was how Eleanor felt. Her parents had died a few years back, her brother spent a lot of time away (working? not always), and Pepper had never seen the teen with anyone her own age nor has she heard her talk about any friends. And it took a toll on normal fourteen year olds, so she could only imagine what it did to a genius that thought faster than they could talk.

Pepper knocked on the door again, much lighter. "Uh, Eleanor, I recorded that new episode of _House_ for you, and - and I thought I'd try and watch it. But, I don't know half of the things they talk about if - if you'd like to tell me all about it? We could order some pizza; pepperoni with stuffed crust?"

She was grabbing anything that she could use to coax the girl out. She knew Eleanor liked the medical drama a lot, always making sure someone had it recorded for her, and she also learned that pepperoni pizza with stuffed crust was her favorite food to eat when she was watching it, and that Rhodey would forbid it when he was there.

Pepper was beginning to lose hope and perked up when the door slowly opened, and she could see Eleanor dart her eyes away from Pepper's, leading the way into the living room. Pepper smiled and followed without question, already putting in an order for the pizza.

* * *

"That's Dr. Cameron. I'm not sure if I like her, sometimes she's really cool and she's an immunologist, but other times she's just an _idiot_. I don't get why Chase tried to get with her," Eleanor rambled, chewing a piece of greasy pizza. Pepper nodded along, not quite getting it. "Chase is the Australian one? Right?"

Eleanor nodded. "Yep. Foreman is the black doctor, and you should know who House is, right? Reminds me a lot of Tony - only difference is he has a cane and takes Vicodin while Tony drinks scotch."

Pepper was sure that it wasn't a compliment, or not completely, and nodded again. She was right when she said she wouldn't understand most of it, and Eleanor was more than happy to share her extensive knowledge of medicine and the characters.

She watched as Eleanor's eyes lit up, much happier than she was earlier and smiled softly. Eleanor was just a kid compared to her, and she was a kid that needed someone to talk to.

Pepper was more than willing to be that someone.


	8. unreliable

"Tony, I have a teacher conference that you need to be there for. It's tomorrow night at seven."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be there, don't worry."

* * *

Eleanor sat patiently in her seat as she stared at her teacher, a note in her hands. "Sorry. Tony had some business he had to do, so he gave me a note. It says that you can just email him what you needed to discuss."

The young girl waited for her dismissal before heading to the company car.

* * *

"Tony, I have a piano recital on Friday, and I'd like you to come."

"You know I'll be there!"

* * *

Eleanor waited until the very last person had filed out of the auditorium and out of the pavilion area before sighing and snatching up a program and following her instructor out. She wrapped an arm around the young girl's shoulders, giving her a squeeze. "I'm sure something important came up, Eleanor. He'd be here, otherwise."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Tony, Rhodey is picking me up tomorrow for day out for my birthday. He said you should meet us at the restaurant for dinner."

"No problem, kiddo. It'll be fun!"

* * *

Despite the fun of the day, Eleanor slumped in her seat as Rhodey checked his watch again, sending a text to her brother. He smiled apologetically to the young girl in front of him. "Looks like he's not coming, El. Maybe he got caught up in some business."

"Maybe."

* * *

"Tony, I need to be picked up around six tomorrow. I'm working on a project for school, and my teachers are letting me stay late."

"Will do. I'll have a car there for you."

* * *

She didn't know how long she was waiting outside as she sat on the steps of the school. The sky was darkening, and if she didn't leave soon, it'd be much harder to get a cab. She rummaged through her pockets for the emergency money given to her and managed to get a cab to stop for her. The elder man gave her a concerned look. "What are you doing out here so late by yourself?"

Eleanor gave him a polite smile. "My brother had important matters to attend to."

She didn't miss the sympathetic look on his face.

* * *

"Tony, I'm in the nurse's office. Can you send someone to come pick me up?"

"Sure thing!"

* * *

Eleanor remained in the chair by the office when the dismissal bell rang. She watched as the other students filed out of the school, and she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, sighing and rubbing her head to alleviate her headache.

"Miss Stark?" the nurse questioned, surprise in her eyes. She glanced around noticing that no one was there to pick her up and smiled softly at her, holding her hand out for her. "Would you like me to take you home? It seems your brother was busy."

"Thank you, Nurse Green."

* * *

"Hey, Ellie, there's a luncheon that I'd like for you to go to. Would you come?"

"No."

* * *

"Hey, Ellie, there's a meeting with a potential client and they'd like to meet you. Would that be alright?"

"No."

* * *

"Hey, Ellie, do you want to go out, just the two of us?"

"No."

* * *

Tony Stark was a man of twenty-two, his parents having passed less than a year ago, and he was absolutely shit at the role of guardian for his kid sister. He was forgetful and could never remember what it was she wanted and when she needed him.

Eleanor Stark was a kid of twelve, her brother recently acquiring guardianship of her less than a year ago, and she was absolutely shit at getting angry at her brother when he forgot about her.

After all, she knew he had important business to attend to.


	9. epinephrine

"We have a new cook?" A fifteen-year-old Eleanor Stark asked with a wrinkled nose. " _Why?_ I can just get something after school."

Pepper Potts rubbed the gap between her brows soothingly, a headache forming before the conversation even continued. "Because," she stressed out for the umpteenth time. "It's something we all think would make it easier on you and give you some healthier options than fast food."

It might have been a slight jab at the roundness of Eleanor's face (which she would soon contribute to not losing all of the baby fat yet) and it might have been a jab at her lack of self-care. The "we" Pepper spoke of had to be Tony, Rhodey, and herself - maybe even Happy - if she had to guess.

But, Eleanor wasn't a kid back at the estate where her butler had passed and needed someone to take care of her. No, she was a teenager, more of an adult than her idiotic brother if she were honest, and there was no need to hire someone to feed her.

Pepper must've seen the mutinous look because hastily amended, "It's just a test run, El. You've been so focused on preparing for your undergrad, which by the way is still a good year away at least, that you've started to skip some meals."

"And a _cook_ is supposed to remedy that?" Eleanor was incredulous by the sheer implication that some stranger would suddenly fix all of her bad habits. How could she possibly think that she would agree to something like -

" _Tony_ is really concerned, El. He said that if you tough through it then so will he."

Ah, so Pepper had a trump card up her sleeve. A trump card that was, and is, still the ultimate weapon to get the youngest Stark to do her bidding.

She did not miss the triumphant smirk on the assistant's face.

* * *

"Is this the test?" Eleanor droned, head in her hand as she drew shapes on the table with her finger. "Like, if the food is good, he'll stay and if not, then he's kicked off the island?"

Tony leaned back in his chair with a slight shrug. "More like, if it's edible then he'll probably stay. So don't spit it out just to be a shit."

"Can you two please not start at the dinner table?" Pepper admonished tiredly, and Eleanor glared at her brother.

"Yes, Mom," the Starks groaned out in unison, and Pepper was sure that this was it, this was the time when she struck her boss.

The smell of the food caught Eleanor's attention. It was a simple dish, pasta, and despite her earlier reservations, she could definitely enjoy home cooked meals. There's no chance her brother would cook, and she would rather test her skills before having Pepper make dinner on top of the workload she already had.

"It certainly smells good," Pepper complimented, thanking the man as he set a plate in front of each of them. She gave a stern glare to the siblings. "I'm serious when I say you two need to eat everything off of your plate."

"Yeah, Ellie, listen to what your mother says or -"

"I need to go to the hospital."

There was a pause. It felt long, almost as if they could hear the clock ticking each second. Pepper stared at the small Stark, noticing an immediate flush to her cheeks and hives starting to cover her skin. She was confused for another brief second until the girl leaned over and vomited, and Pepper scrambled out of her seat. "Oh my god!"

"What sauce did you use?!" Tony yelled at the cook, giving JARVIS quick instructions to get a car prepared to leave. Pepper opened up every cabinet at her disposal finally finding what she was looking for, uncapping it, and injecting the epinephrine into the thigh of the now wheezing girl.

"P-Pesto, sir..."

"How could you forget she has a severe allergy to nuts?! That includes pine nuts, you fucking moron!"

Pepper ignored the sick on the floor and carefully helped the teen out of her seat. "Don't panic, El," she muttered rapidly, trying to get rid of her own panic. "We'll get you all checked out and get some of that fast food, huh?"

"Your panic is making me panic," Eleanor mumbled out, tired despite the injection, leaning against Pepper as they finally got into the seat of the car, Tony flying behind them with her other EpiPen in his hands, a mix between anger and worry on his face. He turned to face her when he got into the driver's seat and gave her thigh a firm pat. "Nothing we haven't dealt with before, right Ellie?"

She just hummed, stomach rolling and throat starting to tighten as she watched Tony zoom past everybody and everything to get to the emergency room.

* * *

"And she's okay now, right?" Pepper asked the doctor, wringing her hands nervously as she kept stealing glances to the teen hooked up to an IV. Eleanor looked worn out and a little pale but fine, nonetheless. Irritated was more like it since Tony put it upon himself to pester the allergen out of her. "There's no reason to stay any longer?"

"Miss Stark is perfectly fine," the doctor assured. "Perhaps a little nauseous or fatigued, but that's normal. She can leave as soon as she feels up to it."

"Let's go! Take this out before I do!" Eleanor demanded from her position, jabbing a finger to the needle in her vein. Tony slapped her hand away as it inched towards the needle, sternly telling her to wait.

Pepper was relieved to be back in the car and on their way to a drive-thru after the horrible dinner fiasco. She was startled from her musings by the young Stark barking out a laugh suddenly.

"What are you laughing about back there?"

"Just that it seems that I always eat something bad around you, Tony, who should be someone that keeps up with that stuff."

He spluttered from his front seat, glaring at her through the rearview mirror. "That is not true! Pepper was there last time!"

"That's because you didn't tell me your sister had a nut allergy!" Pepper argued back, offended at the thought of being associated with him when it involved almost killing his precious sister. "I felt that was an important piece of information!"

"If I had to learn the hard way then so do you!"

* * *

 _"Hey, Ellie, do you want to sneak some of that Halloween candy from my room?" Seventeen-year-old Tony asked his little sister, mischief in his eyes. Their mother had made it clear that the girl wasn't allowed anymore sweets after dinner because she ate the majority of her share, and Tony couldn't bare to not let his cute sister take some of his. And she didn't seem to object to the idea either._

 _A grin split her face, her own eyes mirroring his. "As long as you don't tell Mom, then I won't!"_

 _And so, the two siblings made sure to avoid their mother's eye and letting Jarvis know that he could wait a little more time before getting Eleanor ready for bed. Tony poured his stash onto the floor so they could pick through it. He let her rummage through it, and she grabbed the chocolate bar, staring him at with a question in her eyes. "Is this good?"_

 _She was holding a Snickers, and Tony felt almost offended that his sister had never had one in her seven years of life. His mouth dropped and he even felt like cursing his parents for keeping such an important milestone from her._

 _"It's great! Try it!"_

 _And so she did._

 _Tony watched with eager eyes as she took a large bite, hoping to see the moment where she realized it was the best thing she ever had only to be disappointed when she immediately spit it out._

 _"What's wrong? Is it not good?"_

 _"I need Jarvis!" she choked out, crawling away from her brother, panic in her eyes, vomiting on his floor without a care in the world. Tony scrambled after her. "W-Wait, what's wrong, Ellie? Was it a bad batch?"_

 _And when she started to wheeze and her face turned blotchy, Tony slammed open his door, frantically searching for their butler, who luckily was close._

 _"Jarvis!" Tony yelled, grabbing the older man by his shirt and pulling him to his bedroom. "Something's wrong with Ellie! I-I just gave her some candy and then she started throwing up and wheezing and I don't know what's wrong and she told me to get you -"_

 _Jarvis moved past the teen, his own worry in his eyes as he pulled a pen out of his coat, obviously prepared for this situation. Without wasting a moment, he pushed the needle into the little thigh of Eleanor and scooped up her huffing form and moving past her brother again._

 _"What did she eat?" Jarvis asked, not unkindly (he could never say an ill word to his wards), already heading to the car and not even alerting their parents. "It'll help when we get to the ER, sir."_

 _"ER? Uh, well I just let her have a Snickers because she never had one before. But, I didn't think it was going to make her sick!"_

 _Instead of reprimanding him like he should've, Jarvis just shook his head, placing the tired girl in the seat and motioning for Tony to sit in._

 _"The Miss has a severe nut allergy," Jarvis explained, and Tony felt a sudden cold rush as he looked down at the girl leaning into his side. Jarvis hurriedly added, "She forgets about it so much that it was only a matter of time before she ate something with nuts, sir, so don't feel guilty. I'll show you how to use the EpiPen when we return, and I'll give you a few to carry on you."_

 _Tony blinked at the ease in which the butler was discussing the serious condition before agreeing and giving his sister a pat on the head. They were both idiots, huh?_

* * *

 _"You should take Ellie out to lunch, Pep," Tony offered, not looking up from his tablet. "You two seem to be getting on better, and it'll be a good thing for both of you. Here, use my card," he fished it out of his pocket and flung it at her, not waiting for an answer. "Go somewhere nice, eat until you throw up, have girl talk, you know, the good stuff."_

 _Pepper gaped for a second in surprise before picking up the card. "Are you sure? What does she even like to eat? What if she already ate?"_

 _Tony cut off her slew of questions and waved her off. "Just go to a steakhouse, she'll eat anything. I mean, honestly, she's at the age where she'll eat more than me. Should I be worried? Does it make me less of a man if my baby sister eats more than me?"_

 _And with that, Pepper left her boss to his own devices and currently had the younger Stark sitting across from her waiting for their meal to reach the table._

 _"How's school?" Pepper couldn't help but ask, still feeling a little awkward around the girl sometimes since there wasn't a lot they really had in common. "Anything... interesting happening?"_

 _If Eleanor was annoyed by the bland question, she didn't show it. Instead, she just shrugged and sipped on her water. "Not really," she admitted. "I like differential equations enough to not get too bored and my anatomy class gives me a little joy in the grand scheme of things. I almost want to start back up on engineering and focus on the mechanical or nuclear part rather than the chemical and biomedical branch, but I don't want to feel like offing myself."_

 _Pepper's brain hurt just from the thought. "Sometimes, I wonder how you manage having a brain that big, El," the woman relented, almost sighing in relief from her slightly above average intelligence. "It sounds like too much work, to be honest."_

 _Eleanor nodded sagely. "I am only slightly willing to sacrifice myself for the greater good of the mediocre."_

 _"Now, you're being rude."_

 _"Sorry, but hey, the food's here at least!"_

 _The steaming plates were set down in front of the two and after thanking the waiters, they dug in._

 _"Hey, Pep," Eleanor's voice cut through the amiable silence. It was nonchalant and unassuming. "Can you hand me my bag? And get the car ready?"_

 _"Sure? But we just got our food -"_

 _"The green beans had walnuts in them and I ate it."_

 _On cue, the girl emptied her stomach and held a hand out for her purse that Pepper finally shoved into. The woman started to freak out, unsure of what was going on until Eleanor rummaged through her purse and yanked out a pen that even she was familiar with._

 _"Y-You're allergic?!" she shrilled, immediately standing and hovering over the calmer teen. "We need an ambulance!"_

 _"No, no," Eleanor denied quickly, already gathering her things together, lamenting the fact that they couldn't finish lunch. "Get the car and drive me to the hospital."_

 _If it was any other situation, then Pepper would have argued against the lack of urgency the girl exhibited. But since it wasn't a situation Pepper was familiar with, and obviously Eleanor was, she decided to follow the young Stark's advice._

 _"Why didn't you tell me?! Why did you order it if it had walnuts in it?!"_

 _"I forgot, and who puts walnuts in vegetables!"_

* * *

"I still think that was something you should've warned me of," Pepper restated, arms crossed petulantly. "She could've died!"

"Ah, but I didn't," Eleanor pointed out, popping a few fries in her mouth. "So it's all fine!"

"It's not all fine! Honestly, how have you got into that situation so many times?"

The teen glanced to her brother, who offered a shrug in response, in which she reciprocated.

"I forget about it," was the simple response. "It's a good thing I have you two around, huh?"

A good thing, indeed.


	10. steve rogers

Steve felt like he was kicked in the chest when he saw the Stark siblings. Instead of the Tesseract, he could hear the discussion of war and serums and could vividly see the man that was loved by many at such a young age. Staring at his friend's children, Steve could only feel a pang in his heart once again for what he had lost.

When he had received the files and saw Tony, it was like looking at Howard in the flesh, albeit a bit older. He drank in the information because how could he not want to learn about the son of someone he fought with? Yet, through it all, he felt let down with a cold feeling of guilt because _this_ was the legacy of a man that was great? _This_ was who Steve would now work with in this new era of war? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that he was frozen, and it wasn't fair that Howard's legacy was an overgrown child that still hadn't learned what sacrifice is. (Of course, Steve would learn that all of that wasn't particularly true, in the end.)

While it shouldn't have shocked him, when _another_ Stark was introduced to him, his heart ached once more. Eleanor was her name, and he could see Howard in her face, her coloring, and even her mannerisms. She was young and pretty, and he didn't know why Fury decided to keep it a secret to her involvement in the situation with Loki. In Tony's files, her name wasn't mentioned, and Steve had just assumed that Howard only had a son that had somewhat followed in his footsteps. But standing in front of him was another piece connected to his past, and as much as he hated to admit it, it _scared_ him. It scared him because he expected Tony to be like his father and there was only disappointment. With Eleanor, he wasn't sure what to expect because if her brother was the embodiment of arrogance, what was she?

 _A genius_ , his mind supplied. She was full of restless energy like her father and brother and despite not helping in the search of the Tesseract, it was obvious that she was intelligent in her own right. There had to be a reason why Fury didn't have any information given on her, but the only thing he understood about this woman was the she was cut from the same cloth as her older brother and if he wasn't raised to respect women, he might have felt angry that another of Howard's offspring turned out to be the very thing the man wasn't.

After New York and seeing first hand just how _selfless_ the two could be at times, Steve could only rethink his initial assessments and try to ignore the gnawing guilt from insulting his friend's children. It lessened slightly when Tony opened his mouth to drawl out an insult fueled by sarcasm or Eleanor shared with him a particularly nasty description of a patient.

But, if there was one thing he learned, it was that he was _thankful._

He was thankful that there was something that gave a small connection to the past. Even though the two Stark's didn't know him like their father did and that they couldn't share intimate stories of a time of war, there was small flicker of comfort of knowing a Stark even if it wasn't the right one.

Eleanor Stark wasn't the most kind woman he had ever met, but she still tried her best to make him comfortable in this new era he was now forcibly a part of. His other teammates - _friends_ \- were great and helped calm the storm in his head, but she was the only one that took time out of her schedule for him just for the sake of company. He knew that she didn't have a lot of friends that she could just go out and have lunch with. Other than her brother and his girlfriend, Eleanor wasn't seen with very many others.

However, after the fiasco that was New York, even the recluse of a woman had started to reach out and establish a relationship, a _companionship_ that he didn't know he was so desperate for. Bucky was gone and that hole in his heart could never be filled, but it didn't hurt to have too many friends. And maybe that's exactly what he needed. His thoughts ran dark when he was alone and took the time to comprehend all of his loss and any distraction from that was welcome.

Steve was selfish. The woman wasn't like the women from his time, and it was a blessing and a curse. She was obnoxious and rude and hard to get along with, but he craved any sort of camaraderie. Even if he didn't understand her references or what her cases consisted of (he was almost positive she wasn't supposed to give him any of that information), he felt that raging tempest in his mind calm for just a second, a precious second. Steve was selfish.

But, he knew that she was, too.


	11. dating

Tony didn't know who the boy was. He couldn't remember a time where Eleanor mentioned any boy other than himself or Rhodey in her seventeen years, and he could feel his blood pressure rise at the sight of the boy that held his sister's attention.

"Should I be concerned?" he hissed to Rhodey, eying the two in the living room. Rhodey followed his line of sight and let out a sigh.

" _No_ ," his friend hissed back and jerked his head to the other room. "And you know she's going to notice you spying on them. They're not even doing anything!"

"That's why I'm concerned!"

Tony looked up any info he could find on the boy with her and learned that he went to the same university as her, was _older_ than her, and was not nearly smart enough for his baby sister. He was a few seconds from pulling his hair out and wished that Pepper was there to give insight onto this _scene_.

They really weren't doing anything scandalous. It looked like they had a group project (it was a lab report for biochemistry, the _horror_ ), and it was mainly Eleanor explaining concepts to the poor kid while she wrote down their data. And if that was it, Tony wouldn't have said anything. She was the one that offered for him and Rhodey to visit her place closer to her university while neglecting to inform him of any other occupants, so seeing some boy in the house surprised him, but if she didn't think it was important, then it must not have been.

When they had gotten there in normal 'walk in obnoxiously loud' fashion, Eleanor had merely greeted them from her position behind her laptop with a promise that her and her lab partner were almost finished up. Her partner looked starstruck when he walked through the door, and Tony wasn't sure if he wanted to preen at the attention or scoff at the fact that he was okay with sitting so close to _Eleanor Stark_ but couldn't stop staring whenever he walked in.

And oh, Tony knew his little sister wasn't very interested in dating as much as Pepper had tried to steer her towards it ( _"It's a normal thing, Tony! Stop acting so weird about it!"_ ) But this _boy_ must not have been very aware of it by the looks and light touches he kept giving Eleanor. A subtle brush of hand here and bump of the shoulder there, he kept dropping hints to the admittedly emotionally stunted Stark.

"All that's left is to label the rest of the steps of the citric acid cycle. I'll send you the list of all the enzymes because it'll take too long to go through all of them."

Her partner (Tony _refused_ to learn his name) blinked at her a few times, shocked that she was packing away their things so quickly. Tony wanted to laugh because she was basically kicking him out.

"O-oh," he stammered, standing quickly and gathering his own belongings. She walked him towards the door, past both Tony and Rhodey, and he tried to come up with something to continue the conversation. "So, uh, do you want to meet up again? N-Not for school! But for a coffee or just some food?"

Tony leaned forward in anticipation, swatting at Rhodey as he kept trying to pull him down. He knew that boys and girls thought his sister to be attractive - they had the same genes after all - and he knew that there had to be times when she was asked out, but he had never been present for them.

"Sorry," she apologized with a smile that looked closer to a grimace. "I'm not interested."

Tony cheered while the boy at the door deflated. It was an awkward goodbye after that, and Tony was buzzing in his seat. Perhaps it was wrong for him to get so excited at the blatant rejection, but he couldn't help it. Imagining Eleanor with a boyfriend (or girlfriend) made his nose crinkle and his eyes narrow. Pepper told him that he should ease up on those feelings and let his sister deal with her love life on her own, but Tony couldn't help it.

Once she shut the door, she faced the two men with a sigh, rubbing the space between her brows. "I didn't think he had it in him to ask me out in front of my brother and his friend," she commented, tossing them each a bottle of water (Tony had already decided to raid her liquor storage even though she really shouldn't have any alcohol at the tender age of seventeen). Rhodey nudged him again when he caught the smug smirk on his face and gave Eleanor an unimpressed stare.

"Me neither," he agreed. "Why didn't you take him up on it, though? Seemed like a nice guy."

 _Nice guy?_ Tony mocked in his head as he sipped on his drink. _How could you even tell from that? They barely even spoke! He -_

"I'm already seeing someone else."

Tony choked on his drink while Rhodey let out a strangled sound. He pounded on his chest as he coughed because _what?_ When had she ever mentioned that? Surely he would know? She must be lying.

"What?!" he managed to choke out, taking a sip of his water to try and calm the coughing fit. Rhodey was staring wide eyed at the teen that didn't seem at all concerned about the bombshell she just dropped. In fact, she just shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

"Yep," she said, popping the 'p'. "We're not official or anything, but we've been on a few dates. We're going out next weekend."

Tony let out a mix of a scream and a laugh. She wasn't lying! She was seriously seeing someone and refused to tell him! Rhodey himself looked miffed at the lack of knowledge, and Eleanor just rolled her eyes at them.

"What?" she asked. "You really think I'd just offer that up to you two? I know that you looked up my lab partner's information as soon as you walked in, Tony!"

"Well, _yeah_!" Tony finally got out, waving his hands around. "It was just some random guy in here! How could you not tell me that you were dating?!"

"I told Pepper."

As if an arrow struck him, Tony hunched over and Rhodey gave him a pat on the back, this time not mocking him for his dramatics. How could Pepper know before him? Eleanor was _his_ baby sister, not Pepper's!

Eleanor let out another sigh, putout by his overreaction. "You're not seriously that upset, right?" she questioned, an almost irritated tone to her voice. "Tony, I'd tell you if I were in a relationship, you know. But it's just _dating_."

"But you told Pepper!" he whined back, and she looked as if she would strike him if he kept it up.

"Yes, you idiot. I had to ask her what to wear and where to go," she pointed out, giving both him and Rhodey a glare. "It's not my fault she didn't tell you guys."

Tony let out another noise of frustration and faced his best friend.

"Next she's going to tell us she has a sex life! I don't know if my old heart can take it, Rhodes."

"Let's test it. I'm not a virgin."

Tony thought he was going to die right then and there.


End file.
